With the departure from the French presidency of the man who is valued by African leaders as their friend, the continent is losing an important support in its dealings with the World Bank, IMF and other international bodies,
Le Monde reports

Philippe Bernard explains how a load of toxic sludge from Europe was sent to poison an African city. It is a complex international story: the ship had been to the US, the Netherlands and Spain; it has a Russian crew, is registered in Panama and managed by a Greek company